Robert Cowles, a Republican state senator in the crucial swing state Wisconsin, has said he is voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, rather than his party’s candidate, Donald Trump. “I really think this is one of the most important things I’ve done,” Cowles said on a podcast for Civic Media, a Wisconsin news radio website. “Trump has to be defeated, and we have to protect the Constitution,” he added. “And the country will go on, even with some liberal things that Harris might do, or might not do.” He called Trump a “totalitarian” and a “fascist,” and referenced the bombshell Atlantic report in which the GOP nominee’s former chief of staff said Trump praised Adolf Hitler. Cowles, the longest serving Wisconsin state senator, is not seeking re-election for another term after a total of 42 years in the state’s legislature. Cowles joins a number of Republicans who have endorsed Harris over Trump, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, his daughter former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, and former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger. With less than two weeks to election day, Trump and Harris are fighting a neck-and-neck battle for Wisconsin—a recent poll had the state deadlocked—and its 10 electoral college votes.
